Big Bill
Summertime Rolls.....
Hello gang, I’m writing to share about my latest turntable project. The story behind this table begins some time back when I purchased a Linn Akito tonearm to replace the Linn Basik LVX that was mated to my Empire. Upon receiving the Akito, I discovered it suffered from the dreaded Akito “notching” bearing disorder (a common failing of many early Akitos). The conventional wisdom regarding these “notchy” Akitos is to simply toss them in the garbage as they’re lost causes. I wasn’t willing to accept that answer so I set out to learn for myself how to repair them. I then bought up as many damaged Akitos (and other Linn tonearms for that matter) as I was able to afford and got to work dissecting them. After some trail and error, I’m pleased to report that not only have I learned how to replace worn Linn bearings but also how to upgrade the entire tonearm as well! I soon found myself with a surplus of repaired/upgraded Linn tonearms and an idea forming in my head, build a twin Linn armed deck! One of my first thoughts was to (using an armboard) mount a second arm on the Empires existing factory plinth (the front left corner where the motor was located), however in the end I just couldn’t bring myself to butcher it. After a lot of thought on the matter, I decided that if I was going to have a twin Linn armed deck I would need to build a new plinth specifically designed for such an application. After some plinth materials research and the soliciting of some learned opinions I decide to build a one inch thick mono-plinth of clear acrylic. This table is the result. Please see the included pics below:
Bill.
Bill.
